* Names & Faces: Barbara Bush skipped the WHCA dinner. [WP]

* Page Six: Harvey Weinstein, MTV exec John Sykes, and Madisan Square Garden owner Jim Dolan are collaborating on Clinton's 60th birthday party. . . Al Gore: "If I had half the communications skills of Karenna, I'd be halfway through my second term right now." [NYP]

* Lloyd Grove's Lowdown: Ludacris chilled with Antonin Scalia. [NYDN]

* Fox 411: Jason Binn threw a Capitol File party opposite the Bloomberg bash; Clooney, Rove, Albright made appearances. [Fox News]

* Heard on the Hill: Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.) defends his participation in a frat party. . . Julia Thorne, first wife of John Kerry, dies of cancer. [Roll Call]

* Rush & Molloy: Pataki will launch his presidential campaign this week. [NYDN]

* Inside Politics: Powell asked for more troops to be sent to Iraq. [WT]